Updated: Mark your calendar now for the big data days of 2012

Updated: Readers reminded me that election day is always a huge online draw so this post has been revised to reflect that very important point.

Everyone knows about Black Friday and Cyber Monday, but did you know December. 21 will be a big online traffic day next year?

Here, most courtesy of data center power Equinix, are other big data and heavy traffic dates to prep for, in chronological order:

February 5: Super Sunday, Super Bowl XLVI. This year, the big event will even be live streamed! Need I say more?

February 12: The 84th Annual Academy Awards. Eddie Murphy fans may stay away; the rest of the world will show up. Always a big event.

March 6: Super Tuesday. With seven primaries and two caucuses slated, Super Tuesday will be a big day, even if pundits are already calling it “less super than usual,” since many states have accelerated (and some have moved back) their primaries in hopes of maximizing clout.

April 29: The first anniversary of Prince William and Kate Middleton. Gird yourself for the memorial plates. The main event last April may not have broken the Internet, but it certainly did break records.

July 27: Opening day of the London Summer Olympics. Or “The Games of the XXX Olympiad” as they would doubtless prefer to be known. The games will run until August 12, so brace yourself for a brisk mid-summer.

August 27-30: The Republican National Convention. Doubtful this will come close to the 2008 Obama inauguration stats, but political junkies will be online in force. Last time around, the traffic to sites like the fivethirtyeight blog was off the charts.

Sept. 3 through 6: The Democratic National Convention. There won’t be a nominee fight, but the true political fanatics will still tune in. (See above.)

Nov. 6: Election Day. After all the build up, including the seemingly endless Republican debates, you’d think people would stay away. But they won’t.

November 23. Okay, so Black Friday this year was a shadow of its former self, ceding top shopping spot to Thanksgiving, but it’ll still be a day to reckon with. Old habits die hard.

November 26: Cyber Monday. Also had an off year in 2011, but it could regroup in 2012.

December 21. For those out of the loop, Dec. 21, 2012 marks the end of the world per the Mayan calendar.

Wildcard dates: Then there are some events we know are coming but can’t narrow them down yet. As in:

The Apple iPad 3 launch.

The Apple iPhone 5 launch.

On the other hand, there isn’t a World Cup this year, so we’ll be spared that crush.